For the past 40 years, the venerated Thrash Metal outfit Heathen have abided by their never-say-die attitude. Formed in 1984 in San Francisco’s Bay Area—home to Exodus, Metallica, Testament, and Death Angel—Heathen quickly separated themselves from the pack by expertly fusing David White’s distinctive vocals with a melody-driven and forward-thinking musical style. The band’s first two albums, Breaking the Silence and Victims of Deception, are widely regarded as Bay Area Thrash classics. The Heathen brand of intelligent yet aggressive Thrash appealed not only to the genre’s core demographic, but also Metal fans looking for brains behind the brawn. The most recent full-length album, Empire of the Blind, continued to push the boundaries of the genre, expanding their audience while restoring faith in vicious yet brainy Thrash Metal, the very kind that put Heathen on the map.

Since the release of their last album, Empire of the Blind, Heathen has toured nonstop, playing hundreds of shows across 5 continents. From the moment that the COVID restrictions lifted in 2022, the band hit the ground running, touring with contemporaries such as Testament, Exodus, Overkill, and Symphony X over the last 3 years. Recorded in several cities across the United States during the 2023 Bleed the World Tour, Bleed the World: Live is the perfect audio representation of the Heathen live show. Featuring songs from each of the band’s albums, including recent tracks such as “Sun in My Hand” and “The Blight” as well as classics such as “Hypnotized” and “Goblin’s Blade,” the live album mirrors the band’s crushing live set list. The cover artwork by Travis Smith depicts a steel Heathen logo piercing the bleeding Earth, held by a hand that encapsulates the world tour as a moment in time. Produced by guitarist Kragen Lum and mixed by Zeuss, Bleed the World: Live transports the listener into the concert hall with a crystal-clear yet heavy production and captures the interaction between band and audience that makes every Heathen live show special.